To some, the looming 'apocalypse' is an omen of mortality and the limited time we are given on this earth; but for others, it's about the spectacle. If you have any doubts that people are drawn to the ideas of death and destruction like a moth to a flame, just look at Michael Bay's box-office record. When the Mayan Calendar ends, and let's not forget resets, on December 21, will you be counting down the minutes on an $14,225 doomsday watch, or partying in Guatemala with Bruce Springsteen and Sting?
University of Oregon Professor Daniel Wojcik refutes the question of whether or not the world will end, but instead dissects why we believe it. "I sense that a lot of people who are interested in 2012 are just plain interested because it is entertaining and weird, a new and alternative apocalyptic angle, and the ideas are so X-File, esoteric, and all over the map of belief, that you can find whatever you want in it, and then add your own doomsday ingredients to the millennial stew. There is not only good old doomsday fear here, but also the hope of worldly transformation."
Globe trotters or Central American residents who embrace this hope will be able to celebrated with like-minded harbingers of the apocalypse at the "World Summit of Humanity" on December 21 in Guatamala. The Culture Ministry, led by Carlos Batzin, has invited Neil Young, Sting, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, U2, and Janet Jackson to the event.
"We are at a turning point, a moment of opportunity, but overall of commitment, so that the natural order of Mother Earth is going through parallels, as human beings, our lives [and] our civilizations," says Batzin.
While some believe that December 21 will be a turning point, it appears that at least consumerism will remain intact following the end of days. Melorse Jewelers CEO Kishan Agarwal jumped on the opportunity to provide customers with a "Time May Be Running Out" watch.
Agarwal explains, "I don't believe in the end of the world prophecy for 2012, but I know a lot of people do. That's why we're selling this special Rolex edition watch for $14,225."
In one form or another, I suppose the laws of supply and demand are eternal.